Adjustable Measuring Table for Kingston Maternal & Child Health Service

The Kingston Maternal and Child Health Centre (MCH) delivers a free, universally accessible statewide service for all families with children aged from birth to school age. The service supports families and their children with an emphasis on parenting, prevention and health promotion, developmental assessment, early detection and referral and social support. In addition, the MCH Service provides a universal platform that can:

 

• — help to identify children and families who require further assessment, intervention, referral and/or support
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• — bring families together, foster social networks, support playgroups and strengthen local community connections

 

Ergomotion’s height adjustable examination table is adjusted to suit taller and shorter nurses.

The City of Kingston is a south-eastern city council located about 15km from Melbourne’s CBD. It’s built up of 22 suburbs including Aspendale, Chelsea, Highett, Mentone, Moorabbin, and Patterson Lakes.

 

The Maternal and Child Health Centre is administered by the City of Kingston, and provides guidance and support on everything related to the health of your children, from breastfeeding and parenting information to immunisation and accident prevention. New parents can even arrange for a nurse to visit their home.

 

With 11 centres located all around the City of Kingston, as well as a 24-hour phone line, medical support and information is never far away. The centre is staffed by registered nurses with midwifery, maternal and child health qualifications. 

 

Static vs adjustable measuring tables

Each MCH consulting room has a measuring table on which babies are measured and examined. 

A static desk would be too tall for this nurse (left), but the desk has been lowered (right) so she can comfortably measure a child.

Most of the nurses work part time, so it was difficult to set the equipment at correct working heights for different nurses on different days. The static tables meant they were often too high for shorter nurses, and too low for taller nurses!

 

The nurses’ main workstation is the measuring table during a consultation. Around 15 minutes out of half an hour is spent at the measuring table for an average of 12 consultations a day. 

 

This repetitive movement resulted in strains on nurses backs from bending or stretching to examine a baby.

 

MCH recognised the importance of having a workstation that could adapt to a safe and comfortable height for each and every nurse who would work at it throughout the day. 

 

Ergomotion partnered with the City of Kingston to solve the issue of static measuring tables that nurses use to measure and examine a child. These fixed tables posed injury risks when a number of nurses were using the same table for assessment and measurement, and with children of different heights and weights. Static measuring or examination tables are limited in their adjustability, and hold a permanent position.

On the other hand, this taller nurse can raise the table to suit her height.

Ergomotion’s height adjustable examination table

So how did we address this issue? With a height adjustable table, of course! The custom made electric measuring tables were developed to ensure nurses could easily lower or raise the table, depending on their height.

It also meant nurses could adjust the table to aid a child on or off if they needed to.

 

Nurses are praising the installation, as it allows them to customise the tables to their explicit needs.

 

Many examination tables have an electric back, and while this is helpful is ensuring patients can adjust their level of comfort, it did not help nurses who were stuck with the same height. Moreover, these kinds of tables are more prevalent in facilities for adults, rather than children and babies.

 

By now, we should be extremely familiar with the risk of injury common in workplaces and offices that are not ergonomically fit. 

 

An injury, you think, from a table that’s too high or low? You bet. Straining yourself day in and day out to adapt to a table (rather than the ideal adage “the table adjusts to you, not the other way around”) can wreak havoc on your lower back by straining muscles resulting in pain and swelling.

 

Custom made standing desks and standing tables

It’s not always about standing desks just for the office! The customisation means we can help you in the non-conventional, different or just plain odd circumstances. Check out this blog post on a custom made height adjustable desk we made for a brain injury rehabilitation centre.

 

Let us know how we can help you TODAY!